


Escapar

by trinketbyers



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Season/Series 02 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:31:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14800043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinketbyers/pseuds/trinketbyers
Summary: AU | Raquel decides to stay with Sergio instead of visiting Angel in the hospital, afraid she will get arrested in the process. So she ends up escaping with the gang and has to learn how to live as a fugitive.





	1. Estoy contigo

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! As I promissed on tumblr, here it is! Sorry if it took me forever to post it but, as you may or may not notice, english is not my first language and I take extra time to review grammar, spelling and everything else. So, please forgive me if you find some mispelling, ok? Also, you might find the chapters kind of small and that's because I didn't mean it to be exactly a fanfiction but more like a collection of oneshots inside that AU. All the canon storyline until the beginning point of this story are still valid.  
> Anyway, I do hope you guys like it! Send me your feedback here or on tumblr and I'll be really happy to answer you. Xx

Sergio’s hand was shaking when he pressed the phone against Raquel’s ear and she was having difficulties to listen to Angel on the other side of the line. But her whole body was also trembling while she tried to control the tears so she guessed she couldn’t blame him for that. He was quiet, staring hard at the wall behind her to give her some kind of twisted privacy, because they both knew that they were close enough for him to hear the whole conversation. Raquel closed her eyes to get rid of the tears overflowing her and, for a brief second, she felt his thumb brushing quickly against her cheek.

“Listen, don’t tell anyone that I woke up, okay?” Angel whispered through the phone, his voice low sore from the coma. “I need you to come visit me first”  
“NO!” Raquel answered dropping her strong acting for a second.  
“What?”

“It’s… it’s just…” the inspector swallowed, trying to clear her mind and recollect herself “I’m sorry Angel, I would really love to visit you, trust me, but they took me out of the case and with the investigations going on, I can’t leave the place I am right now… it’s too dangerous. I’m so sorry”  
“Why did they took you out?” he asked a little confused  
“Because they think I’m working with the thieves” 

Raquel exhale the air in her lungs, feeling humiliated for saying those words. When she accepted to work in the case, she didn’t expect to lose herself in the process, to spin her life upside down and to get so involved that she would be accused of crossing the line between police and robber. That was not who she was. Not the girl her mother raised and the woman she wanted her daughter to look up to. She was more than a peon on Sergio’s game and more than a soldier of the national security team. And she knew she needed to show that to the world, somehow but on the phone with Angel, she felt ten times smaller than she really was. 

“Oh… I see” Angel seemed disappointed and suspicious and Raquel’s eyes nervously met the Professor’s for a brief second. “Raquel, you’re with him aren’t you? With Salva? Is he threatening you? Did he hurt you?”

“No! No no no, I’m fine! Listen to me, I need you to do me a favor.”  
“Did you know that this fucker is the head of the robbery? That he was using you all along?” the sub-inspector sounded nervous and Raquel blamed herself for disturbing him like that in an hospital bed. She tried to calm him down with her tone, saying she knew everything and reminding him he needed to relax but Angel ignored her warnings. 

“So, you must know where the hangar is. The place where he controls all the madness that is happening inside that place?”  
“I do.” she confessed, defeated.  
“Then why the fuck you’re still covering for him, Raquel? You have him under your palm, why don’t you just go ahead and tell the police? Clean your reputation and be the good cop like you’re supposed to?”  
“Because I don’t know who are the good and the bad anymore.”

Angel kept on silence on the other side of the line and Raquel felt the mood shifting. She hoped that was a good sign because she was being completly honest and Angel always knew very well how to read her, even through cell phone, so she took the chance to talk. 

“I know that this is too much to ask, after everything we’ve been through, but I need you to trust me when I say that I am fine and I am not being forced to do anything, ok?” she asked and could only heard Angel sighing on the line. 

“They will ask you about where did you got the spoon with the digitals. Please, Angel, don’t tell them what you know. Don’t tell them anything. Just… say that you don’t remember, that the accidente gave you amnesia, fuck, I don’t know. But please, my friend, don’t say a word. For me.” 

Raquel was crying again but she held on a sob. She knew that if Angel noticed that she was out of control, he would assume she was being forced to ask that and shit would hit the fan. And, although tied up and with Sergio’s hand holding the phone, she never felt more certain of what she was doing. 

The police soon would realise that all evidences pointed at her to be an accomplice and, with the whole world watching them, she knew the jury wouldn’t flinch before arresting someone for that robbery. Specially because of Alison Parker and the diplomatic crises between Spain and England. So, even as innocent as she was, she had spent too much time in the police academy to understand that one could never really prove anything when behind the bars. So she was planning to do what they taught her, after all those years in the national security department. She would fight for justice. 

“Raquel, just answer me one thing… one thing and I will do whatever you say” Angel seemed more calm but still serious and his voice brought Raquel back to reality.  
“Are you in love with him?” his tone was cold and detached as if he was analysing the situation rationally. 

Raquel couldn’t help but look up to Sergio again. He still had tears rolling down his face but stopped his cry long before her. The moonlight outside projected a dark blue shadow over the hangar and Raquel couldn't see much but she noticed he was distressed, almost scared, taking deep breaths and failing to calm down. He avoided her glance so she wouldn't see his dispair but, behind the dirty lenses and deep down inside his reddish eyes, Raquel saw him. The guy she fell in love with that day at Hanoi, when he offered himself to help her report her ex-husband. The one who planned escaping with her to a paradise island with a daughter and a grandma. The same man she saw telling the truth in the lie detector when he said he loved her and she didn’t believed. She didn’t know which on of his characters that guy was, Salva, Sergio or the Professor. But, somehow, she knew him. Her Clark Kent. 

“Yes” she said trying to sound firm but her voice was failing. What a tragedy, she concluded, falling in love with the enemy, so deeply that it was hard to even say the words. Raquel knew very well what happened with star crossed lovers, living a forbidden relationship, against all odds. They both die in the end. She swallow some saliva and stared at her feet

“Are you sure about all of this?”  
“I am” she confirmed without hesitating now.  
“Ok. I won’t say a thing”  
“Thank you, my friend” Raquel closed her eyes in relief, letting go of the air she didn’t realized she was holding. Endorphine was running through her veins and her muscles relaxed all together as she opened a silly smile.

“But, Raquel, please be careful. You are too good for that asshole”  
“Yes, I’ll be! Thank you so much Angel, I would ne-“  
Raquel couldn’t say more, the line was beeping indicating the end of the call. Sergio took the phone out of her ear and turned it off.

“So…?” he asked but the answer was clear because Raquel was laughing like crazy. She didn’t know if it was the stress of the moment, the hormones or something else but she didn’t contained her urge to lean forward to kiss him this time.

He stayed frozen for a moment, the same way he did the first time she kissed him at the warehouse. His lips were barely open and Raquel felt impatient, trying to connect him with the same electricity that she felt flowing on her body. But it was a slow process. His body seemed asleep and was waking up part by part: this eyes closing, his lips moving, his hands clutching until it all worked at once. At full strength.

Sergio grabbed her waist and responded to the kiss with passion, desperate to find himself inside of her one more time. Their tongues intertwined in a mix of rage and desire, love and hate, relief and hurt. She moaned between his lips but, as hard as it was, they parted the kiss to look at each other, panting.  
“I’m with you” she said, leaning their foreheads together “Now, please, untie my hands. We have a escape to make”


	2. No lo olvides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here I am again. Sorry if it took me so long to post it but my finals at collage was taking all my time. This one is a little small but I kind of wanted to imagine what it would be like if Raquel was the one to confort Sergio after Berlin's death, instead of Nairobi. It'd probably add a lot to their relationship if she saw him having that breakdown, realising he was just as broken as she was, after all, idk. Anyway, hope you guys like it, I tried my best. Feedback is always appreciated! xx <3

“You’re here, you’re finally here” Sergio reasured, cupping Nairobi’s cheek like she was a kid, to make sure she was alright. The russians were finishing packing up the money and Raquel was standing near, counting the barrels of euros inside her head to feel useful somehow. She never was a genius at math but her calculation got her to near a billion euros, making her twich her lips into a streigh line, still annoyed by the whole concept of stealing so much money. Some habits were hard to get rid off, she assumed.

“Where’s Berlin?” the professor asked after checking on Helsinki, who was searching for the ignition to blow out the tunnel.  
“He stayed inside!” Nairobi exclaimed breathless and finally Raquel’s eyes flew from the money to them.  
“What do you mean, he stayed inside?” he asked with a craky voice  
“We had the GEO’s on us and he wanted to cover the tunnel” the brunette explained and Sergio’s eyes grew big of fear, glancing at Helsinki for confirmation.  
“He saved our lives” the servian nodded

Silence fell heavy as both thieves looked at Sergio for orientation. Raquel could feel the tension and fought her own instincts to lead in a crisis situation. She was really used to it, at the police station. She remembered it felt good to be in such powerful position, commanding so many important man to save the day and to smile proudly about it when driving back home, knowing she made a fucking good job. But there she was no more than a hostage, with her wrists tied up in front of her (by the aggressive demands of Tokyo) and untrusted by all of the thiefs.  

“No, no, no… Andres? Andres what are you doing?” Sergio stepped away until they couldn’t hear him talking nervously to the phone in his ear. Raquel hesitaded but decided to give him privacy, even though her eyes only leaving him when Nairobi notice her presence.

“I’m sorry, they didn’t told me we have fresh meat here” she said, dangerously “Welcome to the team, _inspectora_ , you are here to fuck us all again?”  
“Hello, Nairobi” Raquel greeted ironically “Don’t you have new clothes to put on?” 

“Oh no ma'm, I’m sorry but you don’t boss around here. I only receive orders from the professor” she said, laughing madly. While Tokyo was more like a panther, ready to bolt and attack without second thoughts, Nairobi looked like a snake, flowing her delusional poison slowly through her victim’s veins. But Raquel was very far from a simple prey. She was a lioness.

“Yes, well, I assume that you noticed that your professor is not in conditions to lead right now. Or are you that stupid?” Raquel inflated the air in her chest, glancing at her from head to toe. The logical part of herself told her that Nairobi had her hand caressing a gun hanging on her waist, but it was too late to be scared now. Her ego needed to put Nairobi on her place “We don’t have much time to argue so you have two options here: one, you do as I say and follow with his plan; or two, stay here fighting me and we’re all going to hell because of you. Your choice.”

Nairobi hesitated and when her petulant smile fade out, Raquel could notice the puffy red eyes from the tears she shed for Berlin. And for the first time, when the girl averted her eyes, something didn’t seemed completely dangerous or mad inside her. She just seemed broken. Then the brunette shared one more glance with Helsinki and left silently to get rid of the red suit.

When Nairobi was gone, hiding her body behind the truck to change, things started happening too fast for Raquel's clear comprehension. It seemed that something snapped inside Sergios brain because he started screaming from the opposide corner of the hangar, walking from one side to the other. Then suddenly she saw him walking to Helsinki and punching the man's arms, in an abrupt violent reaction she never imagined he could have. Her first guess was that they were fighting because of something Helsinki did, but the professor was begging desperaly for something, his teary eyes barely focusing on anything else but the tunel.

That was the exact moment that she understood. Days before, when Raquel searched information about Andres de Fonollosa to ruin his reputation, she didn’t payed much attention on the relatives, because they were good as dead. But then, watching Sergio struggle to jump on the path that would probably lead him to jail or death, her mind played a flashback of the word written next to “father’s last name” in Andres’ birth certificate, making her heart race. _Marquina_. Helsinki wasn’t fighting the professor, he was holding him down. And the realization that Andres de Fonollosa decided to finally play the hero washed over her.

“Sergio!” she called, hoping it would take his attention like she did before but it didn’t work. Raquel felt breathless seeing him in so much pain, watching him struggle and begging for his brother to live. All she wanted to do was touch him, hold him and use her love as a shield to protect his soul from all that hurt. But her feet didn’t move. The professor was so disturbed, violently kicking and punching the servian’s back, that she was scared he could hurt her, even if by accident. Her eyes trailed down instead, to the switch in Helsinki hands.

“He wants me to do it, we don’t have much time!” the man screamed back and exchanged a look with the inspector. She nodded sadly in understanding, not knowing quite sure if it meant she was authorizing the execution of Berlin. “I am sorry, professor”

The explosion of the tunnel echoed the hangar along with Sergio’s cry. The second he stopped raging against Helsinki’s arms, Raquel cut the distance between them in two long steps. His body was wrecked as he slipped down to the floor sobbing hard, tired of a battle he was fighting for too long. But Raquel suddenly felt her whole soul full of strength, enough to support the both of them.

“Hey” she kneeled and cupped his face with her hands. He was shaking so badly that her heart broke. It was uneasy to see him so desperate and fragil, just like she was a few hours ago and Raquel imagined if he felt the same thing when she was trying not to cry while interrogatin him in the crime scene. The truth was, they were both broken beyond repair. They tried to play strong, chasing after each other like rats and cats, racing to see who could hurt the other one first but in the end, they didn’t even notice that they were hurting themselves in the process.

So she pulled him into her arms and Sergio let go of Helsinki to lean his head in her chest without saying a word. The only sound was his sobbing and the low snoring of the truck, ready to make the escape. The inspector took a deep breath, feeling some kind of force of nature clunging their bodies together, transferring her energy to Sergio’s weak soul. It didn’t really matter the good or the bad, or who was the most broken, Raquel concluded. As long as they were, together, life would make a way. Even if it meant supporting all the hurt and traumas they accumulated all those years on each other. Like battery chargers. She placed a kiss in his forehead and tangled her fingers in his hair, trying to soothe him down.

“Go get ready, I can handle this.” she told  Helsinki, who had an confused expression in his face, and felt Sergio’s grip on her waist tightening “He will be there in a minute”

The serbian furroed his brows but nodded anyway and patted Sergio’s shoulder before standing up and leaving. He was the first one to have a clue about deep was their relationship and Raquel knew it wouldn’t take much time before the others started to draw conclusions. She made a self note to make sergio talk to them about it before things got ugly.

“Listen to me, I know you are hurting, but this is no place for mourning."she told him, grabbing the chin to pull up his face. She looked inside his teary eyes, searching for the cold, calculating part of him that she met on the phone days ago. She loved the sweet caring part of Sergio. But right then, they all needed the professor. "You have to keep going. _We_ have to."

He took a shaky deep breath but didn't move for a moment, looking back at her as he tryed to control his breathing. Then, very slowly, he pulled back, wiping away the tears that insisted on falling down his cheek. "Ok" he said, still recollecting himself, clearly trying to bring his cold blooded mind back.

Then, he covered her hand with his and kissed her palm before standing up. Raquel just opened a sad smile because it was all she could do.


	3. Agarrame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, I was really really really excited for this chapter! It was probably the faster I’ve ever wrote because one night the inspiration came to me and I just let it flow. You know, we don’t have many information on what happens to everyone after they get out of the hangar with the truck (besides that one year later, raquel meets sergio in Palawan) So, basically this chapter is new territory to all of us and where our plot really begins. It’s crucial that you send me feedback on this one, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t, your suggestions, your theories… just bring it all on! You can do it here or comment on AO3 or spirit! I will be really happy to answer you! With that said, I’ll leave you with the story. Hope you guys like it! Xx

Loneliness is a blessing for the ones who crave it, Raquel supposed, sitting uncomfortable on top of a barrel filled with money. It wasn’t exactly quiet, because the back of the truck shook with the tight curves of the streets and moved slightly too fast, making the silver cylinders collide against each other. But she could think, for once, in peace. No plan to follow, no lover to support, no intense conflicts with thieves and no hands chained to the ceiling. Just her and her thoughts. She could hear them loud and clear inside her head now, and that felt both relieving and terrifying.

_What the fuck was she doing?_ Raquel Murillo was a 40 year old woman, with a life, a career, a family and responsibilities to care for. Yes, she had problems but her job was to face and solve them in the best way she could. That’s the lesson her mother always taught her. _Chase the bad guys, make things right_. Not run away like a criminal, not jump in the arms of the first bastard that betrayed her and definitely not escape as if she did something wrong.

_Because she did nothing wrong._

And there, in the dark, with police sirens fading away behind them and her ass hurting from her improvised seat, she felt like she just screwed it all up. Suddenly her thoughts were voices screaming at her, cursing her impulsive actions, blaming her for being a horrible professional, a careless daughter and a irresponsible mother.

Raquel tried, but couldn’t stop the panic attack that sucked the air out of her lungs. She felt that long known pressure on her chest and wished she had brought her anxiety pills with her when she left home. She stood up, leaning against the walls of the truck for ballance, and her eyes filled up with tears as she tried to control her breathing, thinking about anything else. _Inhale, exhale_.

Her mind wandered to Marivi, her sweet, forgetful mom. _Inhale, exhale_ . She needed special care and Raquel didn't believe her younger sister would move one finger to help their mother. _Inhale, exhale_ . She couldn’t even imagine how disappointed Marivi would be when she hear the news, or how many times her memory would fail and the elder would prepare dinner for three, waiting for Raquel to come home from work. _Inhale, exhale_ . The inspector wondered if she would prefer an arrested or a escaping daughter. _Inhale…_ For Raquel, both were terrible options.

But Paula was safe. _Exhale_ . Paula was happy, probably having lunch at school. Running around with her friends, smiling and laughing, oblivious of her mother’s bad decisions. She imagined the girl coming back home, hugging her grandma and looking for her mom around the house to find nothing. _Inhale, exhale_ . Then she pictured her knowing about the escape and the horrors Alberto would say about it. _Inhale, exhale._  Raquel’s eyes grew bigger and she felt the fear crawling underneath her skin when realized that Alberto could get a provisional custody order as soon as Raquel would be considered a runaway. _Inhale._ And she couldn’t let that happen. _Inhale!_ She had to do something. _Inhale!_ She had to make the right move and win her turn on the game. _Inhale!_ Because the heist was over, but that game never ended.

“Breathe, Raquel” she said out loud, not minding if they could hear her on the cabin. She closed her eyes to calm down herself and two large teardrops rolled down her cheeks. “Focus on the breathing”

_Exhale_. The truck stopped as soon as an idea popped into her mind. She touched the back of her jeans and felt it, on her left pocket, her tapped phone. A few minutes before she would believe that phone would be their ruin but then, looking at the deem light of the screen in the dark, she only could think of her salvation.

“Hey” Sergio said, opening the back gate of the truck, and the sunlight blinded her for a split second “You tied yourself up again?”  
“Yeah, we don’t need any more problems with Tokyo” she answered, accepting his hand to help her get down. “What’s next?”  
“The cargo ship docked a few minutes ago, so I’m expecting them all to be there already. The russians will help with the money”  
Raquel nodded in response, her eyes a bit detached and Sergio furrowed his brows. “You ok?”  
“Yeah, I’m alright, just bit dizzy from the road” she smiled and kissed his cheek. Sergio grinned back but it didn’t really reach his eyes.

Helsinki and the russians did most of the job of carrying the barriers to the ship while Sergio was too busy counting it down again. Raquel tried to stay out of sight, especially when they were running out of time and the other thieves came to help. Most of them ignored her presence, except for Nairobi who eyed her suspiciously and exchanged a look with Tokyo. Monica tried to smile, clutching to Denver’s arm as if her life depended on it, and when Raquel remembered that she was pregnant the whole time, she concluded that the secretary wasn’t as fragile as she appeared to be.

“How long do we have left?” Tokyo asked, rolling  one of the last cylinders to Helsinki.  
“Precisely 20 minutes until they close all the borders” the Professor answered and for the first time Raquel was certain he was making a mistake. If she knew Prieto well, he wouldn’t waste time before sending all his man to the port and, guided by the tracker on her phone, she assumed he would be at least five minutes ahead of them. She started helping the best way she could to disguise her nervousness, picking up the money and rolling it to Rio, until the clock ticked and she stopped what she was doing to put her plan in action.

“We’re almost there!” Sergio said with eyes bright when she touched his arm to call his attention. They got all the money inside the boat and the russians left with the truck while the thieves were boarding with their machine guns. And Raquel thought that, for that special occasion, ammunition for criminals could come in hand.  
“Yes we are” she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. “Sergio, do you trust me now?”  
“Why?” his brows furrowed again.  
“Do you?” she insisted.  
“Yes, but why you asking?”  
“Because I have a plan and I need to make sure that you trust me” her hand dropped as she felt he was getting irritated.

“Raquel, I thought we were still following my plan”  
“And we are! I just added a few turns in it and you may not like it now but I had to do it” the inspector started counting down the twenty seconds left in her head.  
“Raquel, what are you saying?” he asked and she could see a mix of fear and hurt in his eyes.  
“I’m with you. Remember? Please, don’t forget that.” she said and her heart broke in a million pieces for doing what she had to. Ten seconds.

“Professor, we have to go NOW” Tokyo screamed as the ship honked behind them but Raquel could hear the police cyrens from afar. And Sergio could hear them too because his eyes narrowed to something behind her. Five seconds.  
“Come on, let’s go. We talk about this later”  
“I’m sorry” she said and threw herself in his arms. She kissed him as long as she could enjoying the very last moment of it, and when she had two seconds left Raquel whispered in his ear.  
“Catch me.”

The timing was perfect just like she imagined and Raquel was sure the scene passed in slow motion through her eyes. The inspector quickly got rid of Sergio’s embrace and started to run and scream for help as soon as the police cars turned the corner. She didn’t got too far though because he did what she asked: trembling, Sergio ran after her, grabbed and lifted her up by the mid seccion, trying to keep his face hidden behind her hair. Then he turned around, hanging her body on his shoulder, but that didn’t stop her from screaming, kicking and punching his back like crazy.

When she heard the shots, something changed inside her. Raquel she didn’t stop struggling but silently prayed that nobody else would get hurt because of her selfish plans. She saw Tokyo screaming dirty words inside the boat, bullets flying in the air, and notice that they had the mind to put bulletproof jackets on. The only one without protection was Sergio, but Raquel knew the cops wouldn’t shoot him when her body was covering most of his vital parts.

In her mind, before those minutes of chaos, the plan was flawless. It looked exactly as she wanted. To the media, she was like a damsel in distress, a princess kidnapped by the villain on a child’s cartoon. No one in spain could raise a finger to accuse a desperate hostage of cooperating with the gang. But only then, when screaming on Sergio’s shoulders and watching the thieves exchanging bullets with the cops, she noticed a very important part that she didn’t realized before: her plan involved every single one of them. Police and theives. Their reputation, their skills, their trust and, most importantly, it risked their lives. But she was so focused on changing her status from fugitive to hostage, that simply didn’t mind asking their opinion.

Raquel wondered if that’s how Sergio felt, when figured out that his plan failed because he was in love with her. But the inspector didn’t had enough time to contemplate the idea because something hit her in the head and she only saw black.


	4. Tonos de gris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is small and doesn’t have much interaction between Raquel and Sergio but it was a chance for me to built his character. I promise in the next there will be tons of moments of these two lovebirds (along with a few angst but no spoiler) Enjoy!

As the sunset initiated it’s process in the horizon, the sky above them colored in light pink, mirroring in the waves of the ocean. It was just like a painting framed on a museum. So beautiful, that anyone would have at least stopped a few minutes to admire it’s extension and reflect about a thing or two.

But Sergio didn’t took his eyes away from Raquel, even for one second. The cargo ship was small so they had little space to fit between wooden boxes of canned food and the barrels with the money. He laid her on the floor, carefully placing her head on his lap, trying to stop the bleeding cut in her forehead with a piece of fabric that he ripped from his own shirt. He hated to see her injured with all his strength but she was so agitated that Nairobi’s knock in the head was almost necessary so that he could carry her easily back to the boat.

Inspector Murillo, on the other hand, was sleeping peacefully, oblivious of the tension that filled the air between Sergio and the rest of the gang. He took her gun out of the holster and pushed it inside the waist of his pants, both for her own protection and to avoid a bigger conflict if she eventually woke up. He was aware of the deadly glances he was receiving, he could almost feel them burning his skin, but none of them commented anything until Rio asked what was their next move.

It wasn’t directly to Sergio but, as a good teacher, he answered it anyway, explaining the stops the ship would make to leave all of them on a different spot at the coast of Europe. The boy was the first one to pronounce that he wished to be dropped along with Tokyo and the Professor sighed, knowing exactly where that conversation would lead them.

“I highly recommend that you leave alone, Rio.” he explained, choosing his words carefully “When I created the rule of no interpersonal relationship it was because I knew that, in the end, we have follow our paths separately.”

“That’s bullshit” Rio replied, his leaning elbows on his knees

“No, it’s not. It’s too dangerous to stay together. If they catch more than one fugitive, makes it easier to find the rest of us” Sergio adjusted his glasses on his nose, trying to be clear.

“Ok” Tokyo spoke, standing up from the box she was seated on and slowly walking towards him. But Sergio didn’t looked up. “If we’re going to be dropped in the middle of the nowhere alone then that must apply for all of us, yes?”

The girl gesticulated to the group and crouched in front of him “So that means we leave your precious little inspector unconscious on a beach in Morocco and just hope that she finds her way back”

“It’s different, Tokyo, she not fugitive. She hostage.” Helsinki explained with his limited vocabulary and Sergio gave him an appreciated glance.

“How is that any different?” Denver asked and Sergio finally glanced at them. They all looked exhausted, angry and bored. A combination that didn’t fit nice with a bunch of criminals on the run. Monica, who leaned her body against Denver’s, moved away from him when felt her boyfriend’s muscles tensing in a mix of rage and confusion. “She is a cop. The cops shooted my dad three times, in cold blood. I’m sorry professor but she is still a bitch to me.”

“Denver…” Monica started trying to calm him down by squeezing his hand

“No, it’s true! I know I’m not very smart but I don’t understand how could he do that. How he could screw with one of them while we were all dying in there.”

Sergio sighed. For the first time, he didn’t know how to explain something like that, especially for Denver, who just lost his father. Because he was right, Raquel was a cop. And yes, she was responsible for a series of demands that made their life difficult inside the Royal Mint. But she was doing nothing but her job. And if there was anyone to blame for the situation they were in, it was him. He lied, betrayed and dragged her into that messy relationship, he broke all his own rules, he risked his friends lives because of his stupid feelings, and even now, after getting almost a billion euros richier, he still managed to disappoint everyone. Suddenly he felt too embarrassed to even look at them in the eyes so he stared at the sleeping figure of Raquel in silence, focusing on the lines of her face and playing with a few locks of her hair that tangled in his fingers.

In moments like that, Andres would speak up for him. When he was a teenager and his father had died, Andres was there. When the boys in the neighborhood mocked Sergio for being ill and fragil, Andres was always there. Even when they didn’t get along very well and Sergio criticized his brother’s rebel lifestyle, Andres was always there. The professor missed him so much he could almost imagine his figure there, telling the thieves to knock it off and making senseless jokes about being in the open sea with an unconscious woman.

“No, she’s not one of them” Nairobi said interrupting his wandering and making heads turn to face her. She had an puzzled expression, as if she was trying to piece together everything that went wrong in the heist. “Believe me, I hate to admit it but I saw them together back there, when…” she trailed off, gesticulating to indicate she was talking about Berlin’s death and Sergio nervously adjusted his glasses on his nose again.

“And she was… well, she _cared_. And let’s be honest, if she was infiltrated, she would have told the secret service where the hangar was and we would all be arrested by now” the brunette pointed and Sergio was taken aback. He didn’t realised Nairobi was still there when the tunnel blew out, and her sudden empathy made him feel more at ease.

“But she is not one of us either because if so, she wouldn’t have made that scene at the pier on purpose, just to ruin our public image and play the damsel in distress” she continued, narrowing an annoyed look to Raquel. “So that brings up the question, professor, how exactly did this whole situation went to shit?”

Sergio paused for a few seconds, taking his time to register each one of their faces before speaking again. They seemed less stressed and more curious now and he was suddenly too aware of the fact that he would probably never see them. Those eight bastards who payed a high cost so his crazy dream would come true, some of them with their lives. Those people became more of a family to him in the five months they worked together then his own relatives ever could, during his whole life. So he just chuckled, shaking his head as if disbelieving the irony of fate.

“Not everything in this world is black and white. You see, some parts are in shades of gray. No pun intended!” Sergio opened an affectionate smile and the shy laughters that followed his joke warmed his heart a little.

Just as their strong personalities used to swing back and forth, the mood between them also shifted abruptly. And, even still mourning the death of his brother and feeling betrayed by the woman that he loved, it made him believe that his stupid rules were wrong. They really were stronger together. So he cleaned this throat before starting to tell the unfortunate love story between the inspector Raquel Murillo and the Professor.


End file.
